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“Obsessed
is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” -Anonymous - In
last three days, at least six parents of my students have met me or called me
just to express their one major concern about their young ones… “Sir, they have
clue about what they want to do in life.” They ask: “What can be done about it?” Wish I had an answer to
that question – “What can be done about it?” My experience has been
this: Each one of us has to figure out, sooner or later, what one wants to
pursue in life. Parents, with all their good intentions, education, information
and money, yes, they can only guide, inform, enlighten, inspire and support…
But, they cannot plant dreams in their young one’s hearts… They cannot set
their young ones’) hearts on fire. In other words, parents cannot make their
young ones obsessed with their dreams! It’s a personal quest…
The early it comes, the longer one reaps its benefit.

I
have been teaching young ones over more than four decades, now… Most of them
are college student…

Awedding
in the family is a wedding in the family. A lot of pressure, you see… I mean
the social pressure… I hear some of you
react, “What social pressure? It’s a wedding in ‘our’ family, it’s ‘our’ money,
‘our’ likes and dislikes… So, why should we care about what other people think
of us?” Chalo… Blessed are
those who really can go about handling the wedding in their family without
caring for what other people think of them. They, in my opinion, are the strongest,
wisest and the most peaceful people in the world… The rest of us, including
myself, are just mortals… We battle with that ghost - ‘Log kya
kahenge?”

Some
twenty five (or so) years ago, when a young boy and girl from a middle-class of
a Mumbai family married, the honeymoon destinations used to be Mahabaleshwar,
Matheran, Kandala or Lonavala. For the richer lot, it was Kashmir, Simla,
Kulu-Manali, Ooti, Kodai Kanal, Mysore-Bangalore, Mount Abu etc. ‘Destination
weddings’ was an alien idea… And now? Let’s be
honest… Will we – th…

It was a busy narrow-street. On both sides of
the street, there was hardly any space left for people to walk. Everyone was maneuvering
his way through the chaos, and so was I. Just then, a friend of mine, who
happened to pass by on his motor bike, sighted me… He spontaneously parked his
bike on the side and crossed over to my side to talk to me. Even before I could
remind him to park the bike little away, where there was some open space, the
motorist behind him yelled, “Akkal nahin hai kya?” I instinctively knew it would provoke my
friend… Yes, it did. “Tameez se baat karo,” my friend pointed his index finger. “Gaadi hatao,” the motorist screamed… “Nahin hataunga,” my friend challenged. By then, the motorists from all sides were
honking incessantly… I pressed my friend’s hand and gently
whispered, “Let’s take your bike a little ahead and talk… It’s better for all
of us.” Luckily, my friend did not show any resistance…
He crossed over, started his bike to park it a few feet away in the open…

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.Only through experience of trial and suffering can
the soulbe strengthened, ambition inspired, and success
achieved.” - Helen Keller

Let me clarify my position right at the start, here: I am not writing
this Post as a supporter of Congress Party or its President, Mr. Rahul Gandhi.
As I have told many times before, I keep party politics and hardcore religion
at bay. Particularly, if my writing is going to poison the minds around me… If
it is going to divide and polarize. I have been
observing Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s political growth just as any of you would – reading
about him, watching videos of his speeches and interviews, listening to people debate about him And, what had shocked me, always, was how systematically and
relentlessly he was made to look like a joker, an idiot… a ‘Pappu’… and so on.
What is even more shocking was this: most of my friends around me would think
and believe so… would label him so… share the videos demeaning him and…

“In
the end, it’s not the years in your life that counts…It’s
the life in your years.” -Abraham Lincoln

Ilove the names of Tai Chi exercises we do. One of
them is ‘Walking in the Clouds’… I have chosen this name for today’s Post…

Some
days ago, a dear friend of mine sent to me a video about an amazing woman by
the name Anna Halprin. I hadn’t heard about this woman till my friend shared
the video with me. I was so fascinated by the energy and charm of this graceful
woman, that I was curious to know more about her.

Anna
Halprin is still ‘alive’, and, she is only 98! When I say she is ‘still alive’,
I know what I am saying: there is still life in her years, at 98!

George
H. W. Bush, who died on 30th November, 2018, lived a very long,
active and productive life. He is the longest-lived American President when he
died… 94 years and 171 days! He was the 41 st American President (1989-1993).
Before that, he was the American Vice President for two consecutive terms (8
years). The
years of George H. W. Bush in the White House were eventful… The Gulf War was
his biggest test… And, there was military action in Panama... The mighty Soviet
Union was dismantled and the dreaded Berlin Wall had just crumbled. But,
through it all, he remained true to his convictions and values He was a quintessential
‘family man’… He loved his wife, Barbara, (a very strong woman and an icon for
millions of American women including Michele Obama), like a young teenager did
and remained faithful to her for 73 long years, till she died in April, 2018….
Heloved his six children, who looked up
to him as their hero. The untimely death of his daughter, Robin, who succumbed
to leuke…

One of the most perplexing pieces of advice I have
received, from almost all the doctors who treated me recently –my surgeon, oncologist, nephrologist, urologist
and the cardiologist – yes, all of them advised me to ‘go back to work’… Yes,
as soon as possible. In fact, immediately once I was discharged from the
hospital....

Well, it sounded very strange and funny, even stupid and cruel, at
first. “What? Go back to work immediately after two major surgeries? I need to
recover fully… regain my strength.... and, you know, all that self-comforting
dialogues inside!

When I slowly began to feel bored and depressed lying on bed, I realized
as to why my doctors did not want me to overstay at home… Yes, I decided to
resume my work ‘as soon as possible’!

Almost all the doctors, who treated me, worked ‘crazily’… I have seen
how my surgeon, a friend and a well-wisher, works in his OPD and performs surgeries
in hospitals all across Mumbai city and beyond… I have seen how my nephrologist
and urologis…

'Passionate about Life.'... That's how I see myself. For me, the term 'passion' has a special meaning. It is living life with its totality... With all its hues and confusions, with all its triumphs and defeats.
I consider myself as a little kid, still groping in the dark -- trying to find a way out of this great maze. Sometimes, I wonder: whether there is a way out at all? Whether the maze itself is the way?
Thus, as a kid awe-struck by this amazing mystery called LIFE, I have a lot to share with my fellow kids. I believe, it would be an exciting and fulfilling journey, each morning...
I am, indeed, looking forward to each dawn, with fresh eyes... And my fresh note to share...
Love,
GERALD D'CUNHA